


Felicity Versus The Ex-Girlfriend

by Girlwithsixsmiles



Series: Felicity Versus [5]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), Chuck (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Spies & Secret Agents, F/M, Spies & Secret Agents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-15
Updated: 2014-03-15
Packaged: 2018-01-15 21:02:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1319050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Girlwithsixsmiles/pseuds/Girlwithsixsmiles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A commonplace lunch break conversation at the Buy More reveals more than Felicity anticipated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Felicity Versus The Ex-Girlfriend

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thank you to humansrsuperior, macyaudenstar, and chasethewind for being awesome betas!

“Let me guess. PB&J?” Felicity sat across from Agent Diggle, who was currently on his lunch break at the Buy More. Sitting at the standard-issue table with a sandwich and chips, John Diggle looked like an adult sitting at a child’s desk. Needless to say, he was out of place compared to his nerdy and/or burnout coworkers.

 

Diggle scoffed at Felicity’s suggestion, instead opening his sandwich to reveal ham and swiss.

 

“Figures,” Felicity said, reaching over and stealing a chip from his bag.

 

“Hey!” Diggle protested. “I could dismember you for that.”

 

“But you _won’t_ and that’s what matters.”

 

“Only because it would be a threat to national security.”

 

“It’s touching how much you care for me, John. You’re such a softie.”

 

Diggle just rolled his eyes, taking another bite of his sandwich.

 

“Any big sales today?” Felicity asked, pulling out her own sandwich. Today had been a typical day at the Buy More. There had been no need for the Intersect, no government agency intervention needed in Starling City that day.

 

“Four washer and dryer sets.”

 

“Look at you, gunning for employee of the month! You could join the illustrious list of former winners.” Felicity gestured to the break room wall lined with faded 8x10s. Her own smiling face peered back from a few of the images. “Thea even managed to win once or twice. You get a Large Mart gift card and a free appetizer at TJ Chumps, so it’s not all that bad. Their potato skins are pretty amazing.”

 

“Potato skins?” Diggle raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

 

“Don’t tell me you’re a buffalo wings guy.” When Diggle nodded his head, Felicity groaned. “You’re missing out, that’s all I’m saying.”

 

“Got plans with your boyfriend tonight?” Diggle asked with a smirk.

 

Felicity scoffed. “Unless there’s a mission I’m not aware of, that would be a big fat NO.”

 

“You and Queen aren’t going to the movies?” Diggle’s wry grin caused Felicity to scowl.

 

“No, we’re not going to the movies.” It was hard for her to even picture Oliver sitting through a movie. “Speaking of Oliver, what’s the deal with you two? He mentioned the two of you knowing each other before, but clearly the memories aren’t entirely positive.”

 

Diggle leaned back in his chair and folded his arms, not immediately offering up any information.

 

Needing to fill the silence, Felicity added, “He mentioned the rivalry between the agencies, but it’s got to be more than that. Seems personal.”

 

The agent sighed before he spoke. “Before you, Queen and I were both based out of DC, at our respective headquarters. And I don’t choose to spend time at Langley, but sometimes we would have to team up on an operation every once in a while. Which was fine, until his new partner entered the picture.”  
  
“Partner?”

 

“Your dear old friend Sara.”

 

“Sara and Oliver were partners?” Oliver only mentioned that she was a fellow agent, not that they were _partners_.

 

“You weren’t the first blonde in his life, believe it or not.”

 

Felicity gave him a frustrated look.

 

“Anyway, Sara was more than his partner.”

 

“They were together?” Felicity could hear the squeak in her voice, betraying how she really felt. She was still trying to reconcile the fact that the girl that she blamed for ruining her life turned out to be a spy, now she had to hear that she’s also the ex-girlfriend to her current crush/pretend boyfriend? She had already admitted to herself that she liked Oliver, so knowing that he had been Sara’s first made it sting a little more. It was just reopening those wounds that had just started to heal.

 

“Probably not at first, but by the time I met her, Oliver was wrapped around her finger.”

 

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Felicity mumbled. Sara had always been the one to attract male attention at MIT, and there were always guys offering to buy her drinks or flowers, anything to get her to notice them. She had a dynamic personality, and it was still hard to imagine her in the CIA, where everything was so regimented.

 

“Queen’s a good agent, but she distracted him. He was vulnerable, too focused on protecting her to cover his own ass. And it almost cost us.”

 

“What happened?” Felicity could tell she was finally getting to the heart of the story.

 

“We were in Prague, trying to apprehend an assassin that had eluded us for a while. For the longest time, we only knew him by the name Deadshot. But Interpol had finally identified him as Floyd Lawton and tracked his operation to a warehouse in Prague’s industrial district. It was going to be tricky, because his M.O. was using bullets laced with some sort of poison. But he had no known operatives or associates, so we weren’t expecting too much push back. We had him outnumbered, after all.”

 

Felicity sensed Diggle’s frustration and could tell there was _something_ he wasn’t saying, but he continued on with his story. “We had a tactical team in place--me, Queen, Lance and a few others. I was running point so everyone was following my lead. We were clearing floors, one room at a time, trying to pinpoint the target’s exact location in the building. We had broken off into a few pairs and had spread out, trying to cover as much space as possible. The two of them had taken the second floor, where I was on the third. The problems started when we split up. We didn’t realize it at the time, but our comms went down as soon as we went inside.”

 

“Frequency jammer?” Felicity mused.

 

Diggle nodded after assessing Felicity with a questioning gaze.

 

“You keep forgetting my programming capabilities.”

 

“This job really is beneath your pay grade, isn’t it?”

 

Felicity waved him off.  “Don’t remind me. Continue?”

 

“I hadn’t heard any status updates over comms, so I figured they were still working their way through the space. But then I heard fire beneath me. Obviously, I wasn’t getting anything on the radio, so I went for backup. I was going in blind, which I try to avoid at all costs, but I had no choice.” Diggle leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. “When I rounded the corner from the stairwell, there were shell casings everywhere. Queen and Lance were barricaded behind a support beam. The room was a mess, with tables overturned and supplies scattered. It looked like it was the base for his operation, where he made his bullets, but I was more concerned about taking Lawton in than pausing to sweep for evidence. The two of them had already run out of ammo, so I gave them my spares, since there were still shots coming from the other end of the floor. Apparently, the stairwell I had just come through was the only way in or out of the floor, and he was trying any means possible to get there.”

 

“What about you? Didn’t you need another weapon?” Felicity wondered aloud.

 

“I’m getting there,” Diggle chided. “I had spotted a gun rack just around the corner, but I needed the two of them to cover me while I moved. Turns out he had already moved from a spot on the far side of the room to one of his workstations. Sara got up first, but he moved faster. He had reloaded and got a shot off. Clipped her in the shoulder. He kept moving toward the stairs, but Queen didn’t even raise his weapon, he just went straight to her side.”

 

“She got SHOT? Didn’t you say his bullets were poisoned?”

 

“They are, unless you know how to counteract it. We’d come across Deadshot a few times in the past. Enough to analyze his bullets and create an antidote. If we got there in time, that is. We’d…..lost a few before. But he was getting away and this was the closest we had come to getting him for months. His kill list was already exponential.”

 

“Well, Sara obviously didn’t die, right? I mean, you guys are looking for her now, so….”

 

“We were able to get her the antidote in time,” Diggle confirmed. “But Queen didn’t even think to cover himself or me after she got hit. I emptied my cartridge and went to the rack for another, but he was already out the door.”

 

“And the other members on your team didn’t know because the comms were down?” Felicity surmised.

 

“Precisely. I went after him, but he was long gone.” Diggle closed his eyes. “Queen _knew_ how long I’d been after him, but he let his feelings get in the way. That was over a year ago, and we still don’t have Lawton in custody.”

 

Felicity winced. On the one hand, she could completely understand wanting to look after your partner, but at the same time, to completely abandon your responsibilities and let a known assassin escape? From what she had seen of him in the field, Oliver seemed to be an excellent agent, anticipating the moves of their enemies before they made them. It certainly seemed out of character for him to completely lose sight of what was happening. It was no wonder, then, that Diggle was frustrated with him.

 

A throat cleared behind them, announcing Thea’s arrival in the doorway. “Fee, you have a visitor.”

 

Felicity turned to find Oliver hovering behind Thea, hands in his pockets, shifting his weight back and forth.

 

“Hey,” Felicity said, eyebrows furrowing, clearly confused.

 

“Hey,” Oliver returned with a smile.

 

“Did we have plans today that I spaced on?”

 

“No, no, I just wanted to see you.” Felicity could see Thea’s smirk turn into a full-blown grin out of the corner of her eye.

 

John stood up, gathering his things. “I think that’s my cue to leave.”

 

Felicity looked back at Diggle, not sure of where they stood. He shook his head, clearly telling her not to worry about it. He followed Thea out the door, not once looking up at Oliver. Felicity wasn’t sure if he ignored him on purpose or if he was just maintaining his cover as Felicity’s coworker that wanted to give her privacy.

 

Oliver took a seat across from Felicity.

 

“So what’s the situation? International hostage crisis? Assassination attempt?” Felicity took a swig from her water bottle, awaiting Oliver’s response.

 

His brow quirked in confusion. “What?”

 

“I assume you need me to flash on something? That’s why you came here, isn’t it?”

 

“No, no. Just keeping up appearances.”

 

“Right. Appearances.” She hoped he didn’t notice the way her shoulders deflated, slight as it was.

 

“How are things at the Buy More today?”

 

“Do you honestly care?” Felicity rolled her eyes. “Just another fine day in the world of retail.”

 

Without the pretense of a date or a mission to discuss, there wasn’t a whole lot to talk about. But Felicity couldn’t shake the tidbit that John had revealed earlier.

 

“Is something wrong?” Oliver tugged on the end of Felicity’s necktie, which had gotten trapped under her lunch box. She choked out a bitter laugh. No one could discredit Oliver Queen’s observational skills, that’s for damn sure. Or his tactics for getting her to talk.

 

“You never told me she was your partner.” The tie slipped through Oliver’s fingers, dropping back down to the table. His fingers were still tensed, grasping for something that was no longer there. He quickly righted himself, leaning back and pasting on a false smile.

 

“Must have slipped my mind,” Oliver shrugged.

 

“You didn’t think that might have been an important detail to include? Like, ‘oh, by the way, your former roommate that just happened to send you government secrets? We were partners.’ That never crossed your mind?”

 

His fake smile faltered. “It’s not easy for me to admit that I didn’t know Sara as well as I thought I did.”

 

“HA! Join the club. I’m the charter member.”

 

“It just doesn’t make sense to me how she could disappear like that, after everything….” Oliver scrubbed his brow.

 

“How long were you together?”

 

Oliver took a deep breath. “We were assigned together after I got back from Russia.”

 

“No, how long were you _together_?”

 

Oliver flinched. “We weren’t….”

 

“Oliver, you don’t have to deny it. I’m a big girl. So, she’s the ex from DC, right?”

 

Oliver swallowed uncomfortably. “Yeah. That would be her.”

 

Felicity let out a deep breath. “Small world, huh?”

 

“Felicity, I’m sorry…”

 

“For what? You don't have to apologize, Oliver, it's not like our relationship is remotely real.”

 

“It’s just….I know Sara has made your life difficult. Apparently, she tends to have that effect on people. When she disappeared without a word, no explanation for why she tried to sabotage the Intersect project, it made me doubt everything I thought I knew. Hell, it made me doubt if I was even qualified to be an agent.”

 

It was evident on Oliver's face that it had affected him. As wrapped up as she was with Sara's betrayal, it was obvious that she wasn't the only victim. He was hurting too.

 

“She really pulled a number on us, didn’t she?” Felicity reached across the table, grasping Oliver’s forearm.

 

Oliver covered her hand with his own. “She sure did,” he said with a tight-lipped smile.

 

She still wasn’t sure if she had processed the news of Sara and Oliver’s relationship or if she was just deflecting. More than likely, she was going to mope about this later with a pint of mint chocolate chip, but for now, she was just going to suck it up, as per usual. After all, what was healthier than burying your feelings?

 

"Okay, you two, keep your hands to yourself. This is a place of work." Thea strolled back into the break room. "Besides, your half hour is up. Back to the grind."

 

Oliver released Felicity's hand, schooling his features before Thea could notice.

 

Felicity stood up, gathering her things. "Thanks for stopping by," she said pointedly, loud enough for Thea to hear.

 

"Of course. Any chance to spend time with you." He stood up as well, pushing his chair in.

 

"Geez, Fee, you didn't tell me he was such a cheeseball," Thea said with a smirk.

 

"She likes it, right?" Oliver said, winking at Thea before turning to face Felicity, grasping her hips.

 

She could already feel the blood rushing to her cheeks. He had to have _some_ idea of how much she truly liked it. She couldn't help her reaction to him, even if she was still upset. "You wish," she said, sticking her tongue out, trying to deflect in any way possible.

 

Oliver had other plans, however, as he leaned in, capturing her lips with his own. Somehow, it felt like an eternity and a fleeting moment all at once.

 

She pulled away when she heard Thea drily remark, "Save something for later, would you please?" Her tone suggested irritation, but her smile indicated otherwise. "See you later, loverboy," she said, patting Oliver on the back.

 

"Talk later?" Oliver asked, peering at Felicity. He was clearly trying to see if they were on good terms after everything they discussed.

 

"Sure," Felicity nodded. What choice did she have?

 

Oliver bussed her cheek briefly before heading out the door, hands in his pockets.

 

"How can you stand it?" Thea asked.

 

Felicity knew Thea's question was asked in jest, but it was a fair question. One that kept her up at night, thoughts racing through her head. This charade was wearing thin, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could take it.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the delay! Work got in the way. I'll try to be better about the next installment!


End file.
